The invention relates to the emergency medicine in general, and specifically it relates to medical devices for maintaining the integrity of the pelvic region of humans.
The pelvic region of humans is known to be rich in blood supply and to be substantial in concentration of vital nerves. Patients with abdominal crush injuries or with pelvic fractures require delicate handling by emergency medical personnel. It has been known that even limited uncontrollable movements of patients having pelvic fractures can cause grave damage in the form of puncturing, tearing and stretching of both arterial and venus structures in the pelvic and sacral areas. Such movements can also lead to a substantial and permanent damage of vital nerves in this region of a human body. An example of such medical conditions causing further internal injuries is xe2x80x9can open book fracturexe2x80x9d. This fracture often leads to a significant movement of bones. As a result, the stability of the pelvis is compromised and it becomes open in a manner similar to opening of a closed book.
The injuries discussed hereinabove can cause significant and permanent damage to the femoral artery and to various nerve structures passing through the pelvis region. In this condition the neighboring venus, arterial and nerve structures can be severely damaged causing a fatality or permanent disability. Therefore, in order to prevent further serious arterial, venus and nerve damage, this region of a human body requires stabilization even prior to a patient being transported to a hospital or other medical facilities.
Thus, it has been a long failed and unsolved need to provide an orthotic device capable of minizing the results of pelvic fractures and can be readily adapted to situations in which significant restriction or immobilization of the pelvic region of a patient is necessary.
One aspect of the invention provides a medical device consisting of a sacral panel for positioning at a sacral region, first and second trocanteric pad assemblies for positioning at trocanteric regions and an abdominal panel for positioning at an abdominal region of the user. The sacral panel is adjustably connected to each of the first and second trocanteric pad assemblies by at least one posterior connecting element, so that position of each trocanteric pad assembly can be independently adjusted relative to the sacral panel. The abdominal panel is adjustably connected to each of the first and second trocanteric pad assemblies by at least one anterior adjusting element. Upon tightening of the anterior adjusting elements inwardly directed pressure is exerted by the device on the pelvic region of the user.
As to another aspect of the invention, at least one posterior connecting element consists of a pair of posterior connecting elements positioned at each side of the sacral panel for independent adjustment of the position of the trocanteric pad assemblies relative to the sacral panel. Each anterior adjusting element consists of a pair of anterior adjusting elements positioned at each side of the abdominal panel.
As to a further aspect of the invention, the sacral panel is formed by first and second lateral portions spaced from each other. The lateral portions are interconnected by proximal and distal portions. A cut out region is defined at the distal portion, so that upon positioning on the body of a user, a center of the cut out region is positioned at a substantially higher elevation than side areas of the distal portion adjacent to the first and second lateral portions. The downwarldy extending side areas of the distal portions provide support to a lower back, while the cut out portion is positioned above the buttock of the user.
As to still another aspect of the invention, each pair of the posterior connecting elements consists of a proximal posterior connecting element and a distal posterior connecting element. Each proximal connecting element is movably positioned at the proximal portion and each distal posterior connecting element is movably positioned at the distal portion of the sacral panel.
As to still a further aspect of the invention, each trocanteric pad assembly includes proximal and distal posterior adjusting arrangements and proximal and distal anterior adjusting arrangements. The proximal posterior adjusting arrangement is adapted for receiving an adjusting position of the proximal posterior connecting element. The distal posterior adjusting element is adapted for receiving an adjusting position of the distal posterior connecting element. The proximal and distal anterior adjusting arrangements are provided for receiving and adjusting position of the anterior adjusting elements. Each posterior adjusting element is preferably in the form of a clip connected to the respective trocanteric pad and formed with a biasing engagement portion provided for selectively engaging and disengaging the respective posterior connecting element.
Still another aspect of the invention provides a medical device, wherein a circumferentially rigid sub-assembly is formed by the sacral panel, the first and second trocanteric pad assemblies interconnected by the posterior connecting elements, so that tightening of the abdominal adjusting elements generates a predetermined pressure exerted by the trocanteric pads and directed to the center pelvic region.
The device of the invention has been designed to redirect the medial forces forth lateral regions of the trunk of the pelvic area, which are known for their ability to exert pressure over the trocanteric area or the lateral side of the pelvis both on the left and right side. Thus, the present invention is adapted to prevent the pelvic area or the pelvic bone from splaying or from opening up.
The invention provides the ability to adopt the device to accomodate many types of the patients"" bodies.